In a Twitter post today, he said “rather than reviving the HSR, which could well be complemented by the double-tracking project, we should instead focus on developing the South Ledge of Pulau Batu Puteh.”

Mahathir added that Malaysia had been granted sovereignty over South Ledge by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“I had proposed for (the sea around) South Ledge to be reclaimed and expanded and a marine base be built there to establish and stamp our sovereignty,” he said.

On May 23, 2008, the ICJ ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh, also known as Pedra Branca, while South Ledge would belong to the state in whose territorial waters it is located.

Putrajaya had initially filed an application for review of the decision on Feb 3, 2017.

The Pakatan Harapan government led by Mahathir withdrew the application in May 2018 before the review was scheduled to be heard on June 11, 2018.

Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, South Ledge, and Middle Rocks are territories that are part of land reclamation disputes between Malaysia and Singapore.